St Eugene's most popular venue

Almost 900 people got married in the city in 2009 with 445 marriages recorded in total. Twenty-four per cent of these were civil partnerships.

More homosexuals got hitched here than anywhere outside Belfast, Nine civil partnerships took place in the district. Twelve females and six males entered civil partnerships in the city.

The most popular venue was the Beech Hill Hotel which witnessed 19 civil partnerships and two marriages over the year. The hotel was the 11th most popular venue for nuptials in Northern Ireland.

Across the Western area - including Londonderry, Limavady, Strabane, Omagh and Fermanagh - there were 1,471 marriages in total.

There were also fewer divorces registered in the Western area than elsewhere in the province with a total of 595. In Londonderry there were 239 divorces registered in 2009;111 divorcs and 128 divorces.

The number of marriages registered across Northern Ireland in 2009 was 7,900, a decrease on the 8,500 marriages registered in 2008. Last year 2,200 divorces were registered, a marked decrease on the 2008 figure of 2,800 divorces.

August was also the most popular month to get married last year with 1,200 marriages and Saturday, August 22 2009 was the most popular day with 115 marriages.

During 2009 there were 96 civil partnerships registered in Northern Ireland, this compares with 86 civil partnerships in 2008.

These statistics are part of provisional annual statistics released today by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA). A NISRA spokesperson said: "The figures show that 7,900 couples married in Northern Ireland in 2009. Today civil marriage accounts for nearly one in three of all marriages; this proportion having doubled since 1989.

"The latest figures also show a decrease in the number of divorces - with 2,200 divorces registered in 2009."